Lost movie classic 'Killer of Sheep' comes to TV

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT - lost classics

January 19, 2008|By Hal Boedeker, Sentinel Television Critic

Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep may be the least-seen classic in American cinema. Turner Classic Movies aims to change that. The channel will present this 1977 drama at 8 p.m. Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"It was totally unexpected," Burnett says of the screening. He calls TCM "the reason I have cable."

Burnett and Robert Osborne will introduce the film as well as four other works by the director. His other films include My Brother's Wedding, which TCM also will screen, and To Sleep With Anger.

Killer of Sheep continues to bolster Burnett's stature. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film "an American masterpiece, independent to the bone."

David Thomson calls it "a groundbreaking film" for its style and subject. Burnett, who is 63, isn't listed in Thomson's The New Biographical Dictionary of Film.

"He should be in the book," Thomson says. "I just did not know that film. I would say on the strength of a single film he would get in" next time around.

Killer of Sheep enjoyed a theatrical run last year in a few cities. "But with Turner showing it, the number of people watching will be at a whole new level," Burnett says.

In this black-and-white film, he depicts life in a black neighborhood with haunting realism.

"That particular style was a response to Hollywood's films about people of color," Burnett says. "The films did exploitation all the time."

The people in Killer of Sheep are just happy to get jobs. "They endured. There's a lot of resilience in the black community," Burnett says. "I wanted to speak to that. I didn't want this Hollywood look to it. I wanted it to look like a documentary. I just put up the camera and shot."

Burnett made the film for between $5,000 and $10,000. Its legacy is priceless and daunting.

"In a way, it's kind of scary," Burnett says. "You wonder if it's dated. Do people still like it? It wasn't meant for release. It was a student film. In the '70s, there wasn't an outlet for independent films. Over the years, it played in festivals and schools. It was taught in schools."

Burnett says he was surprised by the response to the theatrical run and the DVD release last year.

"It was a legal issue. They had to spend years getting the rights," Burnett says. "Once music is married to film, the people who own it have an advantage."

The effusive reviews are balanced by bad ones. "I've had more of those over the years," Burnett says, adding that staying on an even keel is essential. "You have to. You're still at square one trying to get another film."

He is working with the Weinstein Company on putting together a detective story.